JUNK OptiMax

Just want to get it out there for anyone thinking of buying a Mercury OptiMax. I have a 2008 200XL Opti. At 170 hours, the comressor failed. The motor was out of warranty by 10 months at the time of failure, but with only 170 hours I was confident Mercury would stand behind their product, especially after the dealer who performed the repair classified it as a manufacturer defect. For an $860 dollar part and $600 dollar service bill, the remedy from Mercury, after a lot of discussion, was to send me a $200 dollar gift card for merc products.

New warranties are longer, but I would recommend if you buy an Opti run the heck out of it while under warranty then unload it. I would think the “happy customer” motivator would have continued after warranty expired. Such is obviously not the case. I had to FIGHT to get anything at all back from them.

I’ve always been a Merc man, but that has changed. I’ll never purchase another of their products as long as I live, and will council anyone who asks to buy anything BUT a merc.

I realize that $200 is slightly better than a kick in the teeth, just more like a slap in the face of a life long customer who has steered people towards their products here and everywhere someone asked.

Research has shown me that these compressor failures where very common, at least prior to the 2009 models. Merc knows this, and ANY REPUTABLE company would have done a recall to replace them free of charge. Such was not the case. I’ll be unloading mine and probably going Yammy from now on.

Just disgusted!

Hey John – I had a compressor go out on my ’07 175 Opti as well, but luckily mine was still under warranty. This happened at approx. 230 hrs. At the time, I was told it wasn’t a very common issue.

My next motor was a 4-stroke Yamadog and I won’t go out of my way to buy another one of those either… I’ll leave it at that. I’m now running a 2011 175 Verado and so far so good.

In Merc’s defense, when your warranty is up it’s up, doesn’t matter how many hours. I went thru that with my Yamaha only having 175 hrs…sorry, warranty is up. Can’t tell you how many times different electronics have gone defunk just after warranty!! Especially trolling motors! I’d say you’re fortunate to get anything out of Merc, but you are entitled to a rant… I’d be pizzed too!

While i feel your frustration i also understand that a warranty period is a warranty period and they have to draw a line.I have had many Mercs and I have also experienced the compressor failure as well but consider your alternatives with some other known brand issues and that repair could have been a power head at 5k plus. They all have issues and there will never be a perfect one thats for certain but I will say that for what I know of the compressor repair cost both your dealer and Mercury probably helped you also by eating some of the cost as I remember it to be far more expensive then that.

Garbage…I feel bad for you…

You are not the first one to have an Opti fail….

Dog

That sucks John! It’s not a brag since I don’t run the bigger motors anymore, but I bought my first Yammy in 06(right in your hometown) and I’ve never looked back. Been such a sweet motor for me, I can’t see ever see me changing. Just my $.02 for when you’re shopping.
If I ever get down towards P14 again I’ll drop you a PM and see if you want to fill a seat…I miss that pool!
-Rev

Ford’s break down, Chevy’s break down, Merc’s break down and so do Yamaha’s. Better luck next time. Honestly I wouldn’t expect it to be fixed 10 months out of warranty. It would be nice if it was but then they would end up having to bend the line for everyone.

Just think you can get a nice new merc hat and shirt with your gift card

10 months past the warranty period I wouldn’t have expected anything. Sounds like they stood up and helped you out and you can buy some oil and other stuff with the gift. So you’re complaining about getting a gift that you shouldn’t have been expecting, did you finish off your day by going McDonalds and spilling some coffee on yourself??

I can’t believe your coils didn’t go out on top of it. Suzuki or yammy, don’t look back.

I was told by customer service that had the repair center, an authorized Merc repair center, contacted them before repairs were made and paid for, they would have supplied the part free of charge, I pay for the repair. When a part that expensive was crap from the factory, that is what I would expect. A recall would have been better. If the part would have been free of charge, why am I being “reimbursed” less than %25 of that cost. LOUSY backing of a very expensive product by company who is feeling the financial constraints of these times. I’m feeling those same constraints, and stand by my rant!

That sucks John. I have a buddy that has a opti and I think it has spent more hours in the shop than out. I love my Yamaha’s I will never go back.!

I have had issues with every motor I have owned at some point, some cheap fixes others more spendy. That is the cost of owning a boat! If your that bent out of shape over a repair bill for a motor out of warranty you might as well sell all your gear and get a 10 speed with a lifetime warranty.

dang SOME of yall- be nice to john. Don’t recall him ever being a prick. I have dealt with optis, coil problems VERY common. Even if you fix them yourself, it’s $190 bucks a pop, and they will ALL go. Motors are expensive as . I agree, RECALL poopiness. I have a suzuki, and i have tried to kill it in freezing temperatures, skimming sand, bouncing off of trees, running her hard in heat advisories, and nothing seems to stop her accept for yearly maintenance.

Thanks p4W!I’ve really been thinking Suzuki myself. We have a local dealer and every owner I’ve spoken with has loved their Zuki’s! The haters are generally those who cannot put themselves in other peoples shoes, or to whom money means nothing. I am recently separated and very limited means, so this is a HUGE deal to me. From what I’ve found the compressor housing material was substandard, but the parts where used anyway. Ya then take your chances as a consumer. Quality standards like that in the company I work for would sind us in no time.

$200 in product for a motor that was 10 months out of warrenty is better than nothing. sounds like you are having bigger problems in life than just opti problems, things can and will pile up at times, and they are never at the right times. be glad that they gave you something, like someone said, go get a new hat and sweatshirt or two with the gift card and move on. as a opti owner mydamself, i too have had a issue or two to deal with, so have etech, yamaha, and suzuki owners. if the seperation ends in divorce, you can give the boat to her and let her deal with it and go get yourself a new suzuki on a new boat, but be carefull, all of the boat manufacturers have their problems also. i had a new lund that was leaking somewhere. found out it was a hoseclamp on the livewell. the only fix was cut a hole in the floor and tighten the hoseclamp and put in a watertight access porthole next to the livewell. not what i wanted on my first new boat. thinking back lund did give me a jacket or something.

Now Merc has called me and rescinded the gift certificate offer because I was not playing nice on the internet concerning their horse pucky customer service practices. They basically told me that they could not refund me more than the $200 because that is all they pay for a part they sell for $860, to replace the junk they put on the motor new!

I do not think they realize the impact one very aggitated, unhappy customer can have. Especially one who was a life long backer and promoter of their products. When a big company treats me like a nobody, then tries to intimidate me into retracting my web postings, then takes away the “bone” they were going to throw me to keep me quiet, I get a bit vindictive.

I commend IDO for not dusting this thread as a few sites who list merc as a sponsor have done! Thank you for letting my voice be heard!

So, whats your beef?

1) The part at $860 is to expensive?
2) The dealer labor at $600 is to expensive?
3) They took your $200 gift certificate away?
4) The factory warranty period ended 10 months to soon?

Your rant I’m sure is justified. However your solution isn’t. There isn’t 1 company in the world who should be “required” to stand above the warranty period by 10 months. You wanted parts and labor to be covered. Nobody does that. How about you go to your dealer and tell him since he sells Merc that he needs to install your parts for nothing.

I feel your pain on getting a expensive fix tossed your way at this time but you are going about it the wrong way. IMO at the very best you could ever have hoped for would have been getting the parts at a 50% discount, but that ain’t happenin either now.

You can either continue your barrage against Merc, which may end in litigation or you can fix the thing and buy a different motor with a lifetime 100% parts and labor warranty.”

Sometimes John it’s better to pick and choose your battles. In the grand scope of life is this really a battle you need to fight? Like I said, I understand your feeling towards Merc, but there is no good solution for either party.

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So, whats your beef?

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I think his beef is that an expensive outboard with 170 hours on it has suffered a major failure of a part that he feels should be engineered with a service life vasty in excess of the 170 hours that he actually got.

I agree, Mercury is not legally obligated to do anything for thier customer.

And the customer is not obligated to stay quiet about his view of the situation either.

Grouse

You hit the nail on the head F Grouse! I may be getting long in the tooth, but I distinctly remember the days when companies stood behind their products. The warranty was a “minimum guarentee”.
I recently had very expensive problem with my van, which was out of warranty time wise, but with low mileage. Chrysler did not bat an eye, replacing the transmission for FREE. No labor, nothing. That is over and above expected. I would have expected, at the VERY least, an apology from someone in customer service for selling junk, and maybe half the cost of the part. The repair man isn’t gonna work for free, and the part did last a couple years, so I did NOT expect a freebie.
Not sure how I could be subject to litigation for telling my story, absolutely the truth. Counter litigation would then obviously be in order!

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Just want to get it out there for anyone thinking of buying a Mercury OptiMax. I have a 2008 200XL Opti. At 170 hours, the comressor failed. The motor was out of warranty by 10 months at the time of failure, but with only 170 hours I was confident Mercury would stand behind their product, especially after the dealer who performed the repair classified it as a manufacturer defect. For an $860 dollar part and $600 dollar service bill, the remedy from Mercury, after a lot of discussion, was to send me a $200 dollar gift card for merc products.
New warranties are longer, but I would recommend if you buy an Opti run the heck out of it while under warranty then unload it. I would think the “happy customer” motivator would have continued after warranty expired. Such is obviously not the case. I had to FIGHT to get anything at all back from them.
I’ve always been a Merc man, but that has changed. I’ll never purchase another of their products as long as I live, and will council anyone who asks to buy anything BUT a merc.
I realize that $200 is slightly better than a kick in the teeth, just more like a slap in the face of a life long customer who has steered people towards their products here and everywhere someone asked.
Research has shown me that these compressor failures where very common, at least prior to the 2009 models. Merc knows this, and ANY REPUTABLE company would have done a recall to replace them free of charge. Such was not the case. I’ll be unloading mine and probably going Yammy from now on.
Just disgusted!

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Your original post indicates you did expect it for nothing or at least thats how I read it. Now, you are willing to have a 1/2 price part and either install yourself or pay your shop to do it. Far different then what I saw in the original post.

Anyway, I have nothing to add to this. Good luck and let us know what brand you go with next time.

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I was told by customer service that had the repair center, an authorized Merc repair center, contacted them before repairs were made and paid for, they would have supplied the part free of charge, I pay for the repair.

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As I have been reading this on multiple sites, I think first and foremost I was wondering if a Service Bulletin was put out on compressors to dealers. If so, then there sure seems to be a communication gap between the parent company and the dealer. As I work in customer service, you never want to have 2 different stories going which from the outside looking in appears to be going on here.

As a side note, this does bring back some good memories of the most worthless car I ever owned that starts with a “V”. If only there service matched their commercials. ( electrical issues, radio, CPU, distributor, water pump, and best of all never started under 5 degrees, I had to be towed from work 4 times )

I also replaced the ignitor on my furnace three times outside the warranty and replaced the CPU on my fridge 3 months out of warranty. It was nice to know the new CPU was warrantied for 5 years, the original was not…

Good luck.